HP admits job cuts on the cards

But is Europe safe from Platt the Axe?

Hewlett-Packard is to undergo a restructure which will involve the loss of jobs, chairman Lew Platt said yesterday. Platt did not discuss how the restructure would change the operation of the company, or state where the staff cuts would be implemented, or how many redundancies would be involved. But he was emphatic that "undoubtedly there will be some personnel cuts as part of the restructuring. At this point in time, we expect all of that will be done through voluntary means". When answering questions at the IDC European IT Forum in Paris last week, Platt admitted he was pinning his hopes for HP's success on Europe following a downturn in the company's US business and continuing problems in Asia (see Europe to lead on growth). That suggests the EC is unlikely to bear the brunt of any major chanages at the company. Platt's latest comments, made via teleconference to an audience in Singapore, follow the company's admission that it expects to take a $150 million hit on it Q4 results to cover cost-cutting programmes. It has already imposed a five per cent pay cut on 2400 managers for a period of three months. ®